Holy Man

From the Maharishi to the Foo Fighters, how one of Pacific Ocean Blue’s greatest tracks never made the album

ÒHOly Man” dates to the time the Beach Boys’ spent with Maharishi Mahesh yogi in 1968. “i have the original words, when it was called ‘O holy Man’,” says stephen Kalinich. “it wasn’t just about Maharishi, it was about a place you could go for sanctuary.” the song was attempted first with the Beach Boys, in 1974, then by Wilson alone. “it had a life of its own,” says Gregg Jakobson. “We cut an incredible track in the studio and it became legendary, as we couldn’t come up with a lyric. everything we did was trite and clichéd. eventually Dennis said, ‘ah, don’t worry, sooner or later we’ll get it.’”

John hanlon heard “holy Man” early in the Pacific Ocean Blue sessions. “the melody blew my mind. it didn’t have a lyric or lead vocal. it got put on the shelf and i never heard it again for 31 years, but i remembered it in my head.” in 2008, the track emerged from the vaults. Jakobson listened and jotted down half-remembered lines. With Wilson long dead, he turned to Foo Fighters drummer taylor hawkins to finally record a vocal. “he sounds like Dennis, the same gravelly, whisky voice, and Dennis was one of his idols. he did a beautiful version.” Both the original instrumental and hawkins’ version of “holy Man” were added to the 2008 POB reissue, but there remains a third version. “taylor sent the track to Brian May, and he and roger taylor fell in love with it,” says Jakobson. “they spent weeks fooling around with it, putting on vocals and some incredible percussive things. so, there’s a version of ‘holy Man’ featuring the Beach Boys, the Foo Fighters and Queen. We call it the london version. it’s over six minutes long and it’s a masterpiece, but we’ve never been able to release it, because we can’t get the legalities worked out. such a shame. People hear it and, honest to God, it brings tears to their eyes.”